This User Guide has been redesigned around the new (ca.2020) Version 2 SensorStation (V2) which includes an LCD display. Otherwise, Version 1 stations (ca.2019) are nearly identical to V2 stations. In cases where they differ, we have made note in the manual. If you are setting up a V1 station you may want to begin at the QuickStart Guide in Appendix II. If you find inconsistencies in this manual please email us at support@celltracktech.com as we will be updating the manual regularly.
We now have a Slack workspace dedicated to CTT users. Topics range from station logistics to study design, and from data management to current development of novel analytic tool. Come be a part of the discussion and engage with other users as we push the boundaries of remotely sensed telemetry data! https://join.slack.com/t/celltracktechsupport/shared_invite/zt-m6phfypu-aIV4zznt0Xe3G3oUsC6KRQ
If you are reading this document, then you most likely have purchased one of our Internet of Wildlife (IoW) components. Whether you’re doing localized detailed studies of small mammals or songbirds, or you’re setting up SensorStations as part of the global Motus Wildlife Tracking System (motus.org), or you’re doing something in-between, we’ve got you covered, and this document is meant to help you get started quickly and painlessly. If for some reason you get stuck along the way, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly either via email (support@celltracktech.com) or through our online Help Desk here: https://celltracktech.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portals.
If you are setting up your SensorStation to participate in the Motus Wildlife Tracking System (motus.org), your station can still be used with CTT Nodes. In general, we recommend Motus stations to include 4 Yagi 10-element antennas pointing in the 4 cardinal directions. A fifth Omni antenna can be installed and dedicated to detecting nodes, or one of the Yagi antennas can be used for nodes while the other three are positioned at 120 degrees for full coverage. You may also add any number of 166MHz antennas by using a Software Defined Radio (SDR), such as a FunCube or RTL-SDR, via any of the USB ports on the SensorStation (SDRs are sold separately via third-party companies). A clear view of the horizon is preferred to get maximum range, so a height as high as possible is also advised. For more information on Motus, see Appendix I.
Treat your SensorStation board like you would any other motherboard, Arduino or Raspberry Pi. All electronics, no matter how robust, can be static sensitive. Take care no metal objects touch the board while it is operating, such as antenna connectors or GSM antennas, as this could cause electrical shorts that will damage the board. It is advised to wear an anti-static bracelet when handling SensorStation.
CTT’s Internet of Wildlife System (IoW) is a complete radio telemetry system that consists of transmitters (radio tags), and receivers. Currently CTT produces four radio transmitters: the LifeTagTM, PowerTagTM, ES-200 and ES-150.
The CTT LifeTag is 100% solar powered, and therefore has no battery. This allows the tag to persist for many years, beeping out its unique digital ID whenever it has sunlight. For species active during the day, and for small animals for which multi-season or multi-year data are required, LifeTags are the obvious choice.
The CTT PowerTag is battery powered which means it can beep out its digitally coded ID 24-hours a day. The life span of a PowerTag is defined by the beep rate (# of beeps per minute) and battery size. For species where nighttime data is important, PowerTags are the perfect fit.
The ES-200 and ES-150 are GPS logger tags that can also send data over the 434MHz frequency, and therefore can send archived telemetry data to the SensorStation. Since they communicate on the same frequency as LifeTags and PowerTags, no special radio configuration is needed. The difference between the two is that the ES-150 also has an Argos radio to send data via the Argos satellite network.
The CTT SensorStation collect data directly from tags and can collect data from a series of Nodes to more precisely locate tags within a study site. The SensorStation stores data and, with an optional GSM data plan, can also send those data directly to the CTT Servers.
CTT Nodes are essentially mini-base stations: devices with integrated solar panels, a lithium battery, and an antenna to collect data from PowerTags and LifeTags and send those data to the SensorStation. These data can then be post-processed to localize tags within a grid of nodes over user-defined time steps.
The detection distance from Node to Tag varies for various reasons, including terrain, vegetation, and the behavior of the tagged animals. For instance, a bird flying overhead may be picked up over a kilometer away by a node, but one foraging in dense vegetation may only be detected from a few hundred meters. When using nodes for localization it’s important to note that the accuracy of locations of animals wearing tags can be as little as less than 5m, but can range widely depending on the density of Nodes. For localizing tag positions, the spacing and placement of nodes must allow for tags to be detected simultaneously by three or more nodes.
The detection distance from SensorStation to Node is also affected by terrain and vegetation, but also antenna height and type (omni-directional vs. directional). Therefore, while there is no hard and fast rule, a good starting point is to keep your farthest node within 1-1.5km of the SensorStation. The number of SensorStations needed for each system depends on the size of the study area. For instance, in a 2 KM2 plot, a SensorStation placed at the center of the plot could detect nodes across the entire study area, in most cases with only an omni-directional antenna. Because Nodes are dependent on the SensorStation to receive their data and aggregate it for analysis, it is critical to ensure each node is within the detection radius of at least one SensorStation at all times.
The detection distance from SensorStation to Tag is affected by the same factors as SensorStation to Node, but because many tags are on birds, bats and insects, the relationship between the two objects can change drastically over very short time steps. With line-of-sight, a tag on a bird has been shown to be detectable for dozens of kilometers by a SensorStation. On the other hand, birds foraging in dense vegetation may only be detectable by a station within a few kilometers. Therefore, careful consideration of station position with relation to the biological questions being asked is critical for a successful deployment.
For both the SensorStation and Nodes we recommend attaching to EMT conduit. We recommend this because it is rigid and easy to set up. This is not what’s commonly referred to as Black Pipe used for water and gas lines, but the galvanized steel pipe used for running electrical wiring inside.
We don’t recommend PVC because it moves in the wind, becomes brittle, and will snap over time. EMT can be painted if you would like them camouflaged.
The conduit can be attached to a tripod, mounted directly into the ground, or onto a building or other structure. The Nodes and SensorStations are then attached to the conduit. The diameter of the conduit is typically 1” for the top mast section of the SensorStation (the section to which the antennas are attached; light green in the picture below).
For every 7 feet of height the base section will increase in diameter by ¼”. For example, in the picture above, a 15 foot mast will have a 1” section (light green) inserted into a 1 ¼” (orange) and then into a 1 ½” (blue). If the conduit is inserted into the ground, the 1 ½” conduit should be inserted into a 4’ section of 2” pipe (dark green). The pipe in the ground is cut in half, the bottom flattened slightly with sledge hammer to keep soil from entering when it is driven into the ground. A block of wood can be used to pound the pipe into the ground to prevent bending the pipe. If the antenna mast is shorter, the next size up gets driven into the ground (1/ ¼”). Note that standard EMT conduit does eventually rust, however it will remain very strong for 6-10 years.
If desired, stainless conduit can be purchased, however it is much more expensive, but recommended if you are in an area that receives high winds. It is crucial to overlap each section of pipe by at least 2 feet. Self tapping screws are used to hold pipes together, but should not be used within 3-4” of the end of the pipes and/or seams. The chart below should help with what is needed for your setup per SensorStation.
| Total Approx Mast Ht. | EMT Needed for mast (10’) | Ground Section Needed (4’) | Coax Length Per Antenna |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7’ | 1" | 1 1/4" | min 10ft |
| 15’ | 1”,1 ¼” | 1 ½” | min 20’ |
| 23’ | 1”, 1 ¼”, 1 ½” | 2” | min 25’ |
| 28’ | 1”, 1 ¼”, 1 ½” | 2”- Use full 10’ | min 30’ |
Masts higher than 28’ not recommended with standard free-standing EMT conduit. Guy wires and/or scaffold or tripod masts are other options for higher towers.
Nodes are typically attached to the top of a ¾” piece of EMT. The clamps shown below come standard with the nodes and accept ¾ or 1” conduit.
A 7/16” socket is used to tighten the clamp bolts. The EMT is typically driven into the ground approximately 2 feet. The height of the nodes can be changed depending on the project, but for best results should be consistent within a study site. We recommend 8’ for most setups, see below for pictures of the node setup in the field. If you choose an alternate mounting method, care should be taken that they are secure. If they are mounted on anything that sways greatly with the wind, the readings won’t be consistent.
Note: Nodes purchased in 2020 and beyond have a built-in GPS. Prior to 2020 you must take accurate GPS readings and record that data with the Node ID in order to run post-hoc localization analyses.
Setting up the CTT Nodes is typically done in a grid in your study site. It is not imperative that they are exactly in a grid, but the closer you can set them up in a grid, the more accurate positioning you will get from the tags. In sites where this is not practical, you can simply set them up where you can, 100-300m apart, and record GPS of the Node locations. Even in a grid setup, it is best practice to take GPS coordinates whether or not they differ from the layout.
The CTT IoW SensorStation may be placed anywhere within range of the farthest node, which is typically 1-1.5km (although higher placement of SensorStation antennas, and clear line-of-sight between stations and nodes, can achieve longer detection distances). See the next section on SensorStation Configuration and Antenna Detail for more details on this. It is recommended to place the SensorStation antennas at least 2 meters high. The higher the antennas, the better range you will get.
The standard configuration for the CTT SensorStation allows for receiving data on five 434MHz radio ports simultaneously. These can be configured to either record signals from LifeTags/PowerTags and ES-200 GPS loggers (hereafter “tags”), or to collect data from CTT Nodes. Tags and Nodes cannot be picked up on the same channel simultaneously, and how you configure your station depends depends on your study goals. The number of channels necessary on a SensorStation depends on the number of Nodes, whether you want to detect tags/transmitters and/or Nodes directly with the SensorStation, and the distance the Nodes are from the SensorStation.There is no hard limit to the number of nodes that can be detected by a single SensorStation, but it’s best to keep that number around 50 or less. Distance to the SensorStation will usually be the limiting factor for the number of nodes detectable by a single SensorStation.
Two types of antennas are commonly used with the SensorStation: Omnidirectional and Yagi. Omnidirectional antennas efficiently receive energy in a horizontal plane 360 degrees around the SensorStation. Omnidirectional antennas typically do not have as great a range as Yagis, but a benefit is the 360 degree detection, and great detection of tags and nodes that are near the station.
Note: Whereas in the past we have recommended specific polarization for omnidirectional antennas picking up Nodes vs. Tags, in our testing we have found the difference negligible and find vertical omni antennas to be much simpler and less expensive for a greater value over horizontally polarized omnis.
Yagis are directional antennas used to detect tags and nodes in a specific direction from the SensorStation. They typically have a 30-60 degree detection range that extends away from the SensorStation. For that reason typically 2-4 antennas are used, one pointed in each cardinal direction, or two pointed in opposite directions and used to make a “fence”. Yagis can also be used to pick up Nodes that are farther away from the SensorStation.
While there are many antennas to choose from, these are a few that we can recommend from experience:
Whatever you choose, make sure you get the proper coaxial end to connect your antenna to your SensorStation!
To connect antennas to your SensorStation you will need coaxial cable (we recommend LMR-400 or better) with the proper ends to connect to the antenna (manufacturer specific) and your SensorStation. If connecting directly to the board, each 434MHz radio has a SMA Female port, so your coaxial will require an SMA Male connector.
If connecting to our NEMA case, your coaxial will need a Type N Male connector.
If connecting an antenna for a different frequency, such as 166MHz, you will need to attach your Software Defined Radio (SDR) to one of the USB ports and your coaxial cable to the SMA connector on the SDR. Note that any 166MHz radios will only show up in the SensorGnome section of the Web Interface (see Sensor Station Web Interface).
Antennas are attached to the EMT conduit with the clamps that come with the antennas. If you have a setup that uses 4 yagis, than you will attach the yagis to a 4 or 5-way mounting “hat” you can purchase via online retailers. Once the antennas are on EMT, attach the coax and wrap the connection with coax tape. Run down the poles to where it will attach to the SensorStation. You can use zip ties to secure the coax to poles where needed. Make sure you have enough coax to form a drip loop for each connection.
The SensorStation can be placed inside a building, or fastened to the pole or building, etc. It should either be close to the ground for easy access, or have an ethernet cable run down to an accessible location.
The SensorStation can be connected directly to a 12V DC power source, via a charge controller, or to an AC to DC power supply which can then be plugged directly into your standard AC power source. In many cases, though, SensorStations are deployed remotely and are in need of a remote power supply such as a solar charged deep-cycle marine battery. A typical setup would be a 50-100W solar panel connected to a charge controller. The charge controller typically has 3 ports. The 3 ports are 1.) Solar panel 2.) 12V battery 3.) Accessory/Device/consumer, which, in this case, is your SensorStation. That line goes into the green Power In terminal on the SensorStation board. The positive and negative wire ports are labeled on the board, and to insert the wire simply loosen the set screws on the top, and slide the wire leads in to the holes just under the set screws (see the pictures below; note for V1 stations see the QuickStart Guide in Appendix II).
The ends of the wires that are attached should be tinned with solder for best results. If you do not have access to a soldering gun, twisting the ends of the cables tightly will help them slide in cleanly to the power block.
If you would like to monitor your solar voltage remotely, you will need to use the solar monitor connector. it is located above the on/off switch. Simply run two wires from the solar input of the charge controller to a two pin connector.
There are several LED lights on the SensorStation which may assist you in diagnosing issues. Note that with the introduction of the SensorStation V2’s LCD screen, all diagnoses can be carried out via the LCD.
| LED Behavior | Meaning | Troubleshooting Steps |
|---|---|---|
| OFF or SOLID | The software has stopped reading data from the radios and writing to the disk. | Restart your SensorStation. |
| Blinking | The software is reading data from the radios and writing that data to disk. | The system is operating properly. |
| LED Behavior | Meaning | Troubleshooting Steps |
|---|---|---|
| ON | Indicates that the SensorStation has established a point-to-point protocol (PPP) connection between the network and the on-board modem. | The SensorStation checks for the connection every second. The PPP connection is just the layer that allows the modem to communicate to the network if it is on, but doesn’t always indicate that a connection is working (such as in the case of a weak signal) |
| OFF | Indicates that the SensorStation modem is not connected to the network. | If there is no modem on the SensorStation this would be the typical state and behavior. If a modem exists but this behavior continues, it indicates that the modem is unable to secure a connection to the network. |
The blue LED by the cellular module, labeled D9, is called the Netlight. The Netlight blinks differently, depending on the modem state. You can use this blink rate to identify if your SensorStation is connected to the Internet or unable to connect.
| LED Behavior | Meaning | Troubleshooting Steps |
|---|---|---|
| OFF | The modem is not currently powered on. | Check to make sure the Raspberry Pi is running. |
| Moderate blinking (5 times per second) | The modem is searching for a signal and is not yet connected to a network. | Wait a minute or two for the modem to find a signal. If it continues to blink, try using an external antenna or moving the SensorStation to a better location. Also, be sure that your SensorStation has a data plan and is activated. |
| Slow blinking (once every 2 seconds) | The modem is connected to the network but is idle. | |
| Fast blinking (8 times per second) | The modem is connected to the network and is transferring data. |
File Transfer > Mount USB and press the SELECT button. You should see a confirmation message saying USB Mount:success.BACK button to go up to the File Transfer menu, and select Download. A successful download will be followed by a success message.Back button to go up to the File Transfer menu and select Unmount USB. Once you receive the success message you may remove the USB drive from the SensorStation which will now contain a copy of all the files from the station.On your USB drive you will find several files…
recorded at - time/date stamp for the time the row was written to the file (UTC)gps at - time/date stamp for the instantaneous time of the last GPS fix (UTC)latitude - in decimal degreeslongitude - in decimal degreesaltitude - in metersquality
1 - No fix.2 - 2D fix. Medium quality.3 - 3D fix. Highest quality.mean lat - in decimal degrees, based on n fixes.mean lng - in decimal degrees, based on n fixes.n fixes - number of fixes used to calculate mean lat and lng.msg at - The date/time stamp of the message.msg - The text string of the message at that time.Time - Date/time stamp of the data point in YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.RadioID - The ID of the radio from which the data point was collected. These correspond to the Radios L1 - L5 on your SensorStation (standard 434MHz radios).TagID - The 8-digit ID of the tag that was detected. Note that for tags with 10-digit IDs (e.g. V2 LifeTag), this will be represented by the first 8 digits in that ID.TagRSSI - The signal strength of the transmission, measured in Decibels (DB). Values. closer to zero represent stronger signals. Values below -110 DB are typically not useful for estimating distance.NodeId - The unique ID of the node from which the transmission was received.Validated - Binary value that indicates whether the CRC value corroborated the unique tag ID. 0 = invalidated; 1 = validated. MORE EXPLANATION HEREAnd two folders:
SGData - contains any 166MHz data collected by your station.uploaded - contains any 434MHz data that has been previously uploaded to CTT servers.Network > Ping will indicate a connection. * Network > IP Address will display a valid IP address.If for some reason you are unable to connect after Step 3, try restarting both the SensorStation and your computer and continue to Step 4.
arp -a
This will give you a list of all of the connected devices.
ssh pi@xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (where the x’s represent your SensorStation IP address)
Answer yes to any dialogues, and when prompted for the password, the default password is raspberry.
At this point you should be in the Secure Shell within your Raspberry Pi. From here issue the following command:
sudo raspi-config
From the config dialogue use the DOWN ARROW to select Network Options
Then choose N2 Wireless LAN - Enter SSID and PASSPHRASE
From there enter your wireless network ID (SSID) and the password/phrase for your WiFi network.
Save and exit.
Close the terminal.
Restart your SensorStation.
Once your SensorStation reboots, it should automatically connect to the existing wireless network, and you will be able to reach the station via any device on the same wireless network. Note that the IP address for your station will have changed- but in most cases you can use the Hostname to connect, or you can run arp -a from the command-line to search for your station’s new IP address.
For V1 SensorStations: raspberrypi.local
For V2 SensorStations: sensorstation.local
arp -a
Look for a change in the connected device IP addresses. You should be able to identify a new one that wasn’t there the last time. This is your SensorStation. You can now type that IP address in the web address bar and should see the SensorStation dialogue pop up.
On the new V2 SensorStation, instead of manually updating the WiFi credentials via SSH, you can use the Get WiFi function available via the LCD menu to upload a credentials file. Follow the steps below to learn how.
JSON and the End of Line Sequence to LF (for Line Feed). {
"ssid":"my_ssid",
"psk":"my_password"
}
Make sure you change “my_ssid” to the name of your wifi network and “my_password” to the password for your wifi network!
credentials.json.wifi.credentials.json file to the wifi folder.File Transfer > Mount USB and click the Select button.success message.File Transfer > Get WiFi and click the Select button.success message.Network > Ping will indicate a connection.Network > IP Address will display a valid IP address.Once your station has connected to your wifi network, you can connect to your SensorStation wirelessly via any device on the same wifi network as the station.
Network > IP Address on your SensorStation’s LCD screen. Alternatively you can use the name found in Network > Hostname, which is typically sensorstation.local.The SensorStation Web Interface provides an overview of your station’s operation, including real-time statistics on detections of tags and nodes, as well as a user interface to change settings, update your SensorStation, toggle the GSM modem, and reboot the station.
This is a list of Nodes the station has detected since connecting. For each Node it lists:
Node ID Last Heard - the time of the last health report Node RSSI - the RSSI of the Node signal in decibels Battery Voltage - the Node’s battery voltage, which can be used to estimate its remaining life. 4.2 V is very full. 3.5 Vis low. 3 V is nearly empty. Node Firmware Version
Various information about your SensorStation is stored here.
ID - the serial number of your SensorStation (the cell modem’s IMEI)
Compute Module Serial - the serial number of your Raspberry Pi Compute Module
Module Hardware - the compute module’s hardware version
Module Revision - the compute module’s hardware revision
Boot Count - the number of times the system has been booted
Total Memory - the amount of RAM currently being used by the system
Last Boot - Datetime of last boot
Memory Usage - A pie chart indicating the amount of system RAM currently being used.
CPU Usage - A pie chart indicating the amount of processing power currently being used.
Tag Histogram - A histogram of tags detected since opening the interface. The bars indicate the number of beeps detected.
Time Sync Stats - Detailed information of how the system time is being retrieved synced (e.g. from GPS or the internet)
A log of SensorStation activity. Includes things such as screen updates and data retrieval flushes.
Information retrieved over GPS: Time, Satellites, Latitude, Longitude, Altitude. If there is currently no valid fix, these fields will be blank.
There is a display box for each Radio port. The boxes will display all new data from each Radio port as they are detected, informing you of the following:
TimeTag IDRSSINodefrom which it came (if applicable).Each of the five 434MHz radios can be individually configured to receive Nodes, Tags (FSK), or OOK (legacy tags) by clicking the corresponding button. On V1 SensorStations this configuration will only persist until the next webpage refresh unless you press the “Save Radio Configuration” button below, which will save the configuration permanently to memory. For V2 SensorStations the setting is automatically saved as soon as you acknowledge the confirmation popup after clicking the Node, Tag or OOK buttons for a particular radio. Configurations can be changed at any time. Note that once you have changed the radio settings, the change is immediately saved and the data will flow from whichever you changed it to; node or tag, but in order to see the text description change on the web interface, you will need to refresh the webpage.
Node = CTT Nodes Only Tag = CTT LifeTags, PowerTags, ES-200 and ES-150 GPS tags OOK = Legacy-style LifeTag only for limited specialized project
Clear Session Data simply clears the scrolling log of tags displayed for each radio port. It does not delete any data from system memory.
The data management section is the interface through which your station data is retrieved and deleted.
From the Server Utilities section on the web interface, you can now Update Your SensorStation to the latest deployment build, as well as force Check In and force Upload Data to the CTT servers.
Requirement:
Server Utilities on the right sidebar.Station Update, which will open the Sensor Station Software Updater consoleUpdate Station button. This will begin the update process. Be aware that the station will be pulling code from five different code bases, which may take up to several minutes depending on your connection speed.Station connection disconnected dialogue. This indicates that the update is complete and that the system has restarted. You may now click the dialogue to clear it, and then click the button at the bottom of the screen to go Back to Main Interface.Allows you to download (Download Log File) and PERMANENTLY DELETE (Clear Log File) the system log file. Used for informational and debugging purposes.
The tag data is divided into Current Data, Data Not Uploaded, and Data Already Uploaded. Current Data is data from the last 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, data is rotated into Data Not Uploaded, which is data beyond the last 30 minutes which has not yet been uploaded to CTT servers. If there is an internet connection via cell or ethernet, an upload attempt occurs every 2 hours. After data is uploaded, it is rotated into Data Already Uploaded and will stay there until you explicitly delete it. The red Delete buttons will PERMANENTLY DELETE the corresponding data from the SensorStation. An are you sure dialogue will make sure you do not accidentally delete data.
Nanotag Data uses the same scheme as CTT Tag Data, except that currently data from the last 30 minutes is unavailable from this screen. The Sensorgnome interface is separately accessible as described below.
Click the “Sensorgnome Interface” button to go to the Sensorgnome interface.
The Sensorgnome Deployment file can be edited here and saved by clicked Save Changes.
I get an error when I attempt to mount my USB drive
Your USB drive may not be formatted properly
I have successfully mounted my USB drive but when I go to Add Wifi I get an error
Either your USB drive is not formatted properly (some formats will allow you to mount, but not to read the file, such as X-Fat on Mac) or your JSON file is not properly formatted.
credentials.jsonwifiwifi on your USB thumb driveValidate JSON
When tracking wildlife with automated radio telemetry over vast distances, the challenge of deploying enough receivers to get detections grows exponentially. To remedy this, data can be shared between all researchers so that essentially everyone is sharing receivers. This greatly expands the potential for this technology, but it comes with the added responsibility of coordinating projects, detection data and metadata - that’s where Motus comes in.
The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an international collaborative network of researchers that use automated radio telemetry to simultaneously track hundreds of individuals of numerous species of birds, bats, and insects. The system enables a community of researchers, educators, organizations, and citizens to undertake impactful research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. When compared to other technologies, automated radio telemetry currently allows researchers to track the smallest animals possible, with high temporal and geographic precision, over great distances.
The entire philosophy behind Motus is that we’re all working together. At its core, Motus is community science. A community of researchers around the world conducting research on animals are tracked by a network of receiving stations maintained by a community of researchers, organizations, non-profits, governments, and individuals. In order for this concept to work, the system requires a centralized database and management system that all participants use. Most importantly, in order for your tags to be detected on any other station in the network, or for other project tags to be detected elsewhere, projects, receivers and tags need to be registered with, and have data processed by Motus.
While any automated telemetry project can operate in isolation, operating as a Motus project combines the collective impact of local, regional, and even hemispheric projects into one massive collaborative effort that expands the scale and scope of everyone’s work and maximizes the use of scarce research dollars. It also makes data available and more useful for future projects, collaborative endeavors and large-scale meta analyses.
There is NO cost to register your project and receivers to the Motus network and contribute your data. Tags registered to the network are charged a nominal fee to support data processing and ongoing maintenance and development of the system. See the collaboration policy and fee schedule for more information.
The collaborative nature of Motus relies on a certain level of transparency with respect to data. While basic project and tag summary information is made publicly available, researchers have the ability to customize data accessibility and keep their project and data private if necessary. See the collaboration policy for more information.
We are welcoming new collaborators and supporters each week! For more information or discuss how you or your organization can support Motus, contact motus@birdscanada.org
Courtesy of David Brinker
OFF position.POWER on the left and 12VDC on the right of the block.
Now you are ready to view the operating status of the SensorStation on two different, and necessary, web interfaces. There are separate web interfaces for the CTT and Motus (Sensorgnome) systems. Open your web browser and enter the IP address into the address bar to open a new web page. The CTT web interface will open.
If you have CTT LifeTags with you as test tags, they will show up as hits in the “Tags” window. The Station summary on the right includes information similar to the header of the familiar Sensorgnome display. The most important item is the “ID” number as that is needed to register the station with Motus. It also includes the time of the last boot and a boot counter. For more information on status scroll down through the display. The additional information includes windows for each of the five CTT antenna ports.
There is a section for data management that we can skip when setting up a station, that section may be more useful to us in the future. Just below data management there is a blue button “Sensorgnome Interface”. Clicking on this button will open the familiar Sensorgnome web interface in a new window.
FYI - you can edit the “deployment.txt” file in the provided box. At the bottom of the box there is a red “Save Changes” button. If you edit the deployment.txt file, do not forget to save your changes! The “Reboot” button also works as expected and pressing it will reboot the SensorStation.
You can leave both the CTT web interface and the Sensorgnome web interface open at the same time in your web browser and switch back and forth as necessary. The Sensorgnome web interface pretty much operates as expected. Please note that SensorStations do not use the GPS’s clock to manage time and that you will always get the PPS missing warning on the Sensorgnome interface.
Clicking on “Sensor Station Interface” will open a new SensorStation page and move you to it. It is generally easier to switch back and forth between pages rather than clicking on the words to keep opening new windows.
This should be enough to get us started and allow us to leave sites with confidence that the SensorStations are operating correctly.
| Item | Group | Description | Part Number | Connection Type(s) | Number Required | Supplier Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Comm. | HO-432 Loop – for receiving LifeTags omnidirectionally | M2 HO-432 | Type N Female | Depends on number of antennas | Link |
| B | Comm. | A430S10 10 element yagi – directional antenna for receiving distant nodes and LifeTags | Diamond Antenna A430S10 | SO-238 Female | Depends on number of antennas | Link |
| C | Comm. | 433MHz 5dBi omni directional antenna – for receiving nodes from any direction, up to 700 meters away in some conditions | Data Alliance A433O5 | Type N Male | Depends on number of antennas | Link |
| D | Comm. | Cable from Antenna to SensorStation | USA Coax | Depends on antenna and SensorStation type | Depends on number of antennas | Link |
| E | Mounting Hardware | Tri-Pod | Various, Amazon | Depends on number of SensorStations | Link | |
| F | Mounting Hardware | Mast (electrical conduit) | Lowes, Home Depot, Other Hardware Stores | See Setup Guide | Link | |
| G | AC Power | 110-250 A/C, 50Hz/60Hz, Universal power supply, USA adapter unless specified | Optional. If purchased separately its important to use 12V DC only | |||
| H | Solar Power | Panel 50 Watt | Various | 50-100 Watt Panel is a good range. If you have the space 100W works better under most conditions. | one panel per station | Link |
| I | Solar Power | 12v Deep Cycle (Marine) Battery | Everstart, others | Link | ||
| J | Solar Power | Charge Controller | Various | One per station | Link | |
| K | Solar Power | Pole-mount for Solar | Panel can be mounted on the ground but a tilt/pole mount makes it easier to mount. | 1 set | Link | |
| L | Node | Mast | Many | The EMT for the SensorStation (2, 1.5, 1 1/4, 1 ) | Link | |
| M | Mounting Mast | Clamp | This should be the size of the bottom section of your mast- usually 1 ¼ to 2” | Link | ||
| N | Mounting Mast | Mounting Rail | Can be useful for mounting EMT mas on building or | Two 2-3’ sections | Link |